SBO22 - Mandola

[Flamingo21]

Looks like a "signature" headstock, to me. Do a small scoop on the other side and patent it.

Believe it or not, I already considered mirroring it on the other side to make it look intentional. But I'm afraid of weakening the headstock, it's already quite thin. Both legs are now around 10mm x 25 mm, not counting the "tone dimple".

On top of that, it's half-hidden by the tuners which is the wrong place for looking intentional. So I still lean towards a shim.

 

[Max Bogosity]

What if you remove a strip of that depth the whole length of the headstock, both sides, then glue in strips of contrasting wood. It would look intentional.

 

[rudy4444]

Believe it or not, I already considered mirroring it on the other side to make it look intentional. But I'm afraid of weakening the headstock, it's already quite thin. Both legs are now around 10mm x 25 mm, not counting the "tone dimple".

On top of that, it's half-hidden by the tuners which is the wrong place for looking intentional. So I still lean towards a shim.

View attachment 4770954

You have a whole bunch of extra material you can get rid of. Here's a view of a recent slot head I completed, normally the tuning machine back plates are only slightly inside the headstock top and bottom edges.

 

[Flamingo21]

@rudy4444 But that headstock has a middle leg that (to my eye) looks to be a lot thicker.

 

[rudy4444]

@rudy4444 But that headstock has a middle leg that (to my eye) looks to be a lot thicker.

The presence (or absence...) of the center section doesn't have an effect on the overall thickness of the headstock. Your headstock simply lacks that portion of the headstock. There are a lot of slothead builders who are choosing to use the larger open design. Not my cup of tea, but it's still strong enough without the central portion.

My advice would be to slow down and concentrate on producing the cleanest, most precise work that you can do. It's worth the extra time and effort to produce something you can be proud of.

 

[Flamingo21]

My advice would be to slow down and concentrate on producing the cleanest, most precise work that you can do.

That's exactly what I've been doing all along.

Except that in one specific moment, under circumstances I've explained, I had a slip. I think these slips happen to many of us. If they don't happen to you I applaud you.

Really rudy4444, I may not be as experienced in instrument building as some people here are, but I am a mature person with a host of life experience, and I know how to handle myself. I don't need anyone to tell me how to achieve something I can be proud of. Can you please stop telling me this kind of thing? It comes across as patronising. Thank you.

 

[Flamingo21]

Repaired.

 

[ardgedee]

bye bye tone dimple

 

[Flamingo21]

bye bye tone dimple

I used tone glue.

 

[RichterScale]

I might consider adding another dimple and repair to the other side.
That way the tone doesn't pull to the left.

 

[Mickey666]

I might consider adding another dimple and repair to the other side.
That way the tone doesn't pull to the left.

Now THAT'S funny!

 

[Flamingo21]

A hole in the neck heel...

... 6.5 mm wide for the bolt, then forstnered on both ends for the washers.

And we have a strap pin. I bought copper coloured bolts for strap pins to rhyme with the old tuners.

Also, I don't know how well you can see this, but I started rounding the edges and corners. I use files for this.

I do not strive for a beautifully rounded neck profile, I just try to make sure it lies comfortably in the hand.

 

[Flamingo21]

I made a slot in the top to receive the neck, and I rounded the neck correspondingly.

You cannot see it in this photo, but under the top the neck heel is left square. So the neck will be glued to both the top and the back.

 

[Flamingo21]

There's something weird with the fingerboard. I bought a piece of Bloodwood that's very nice, except it has ugly saw marks from what appears to be a table saw blade with some bent teeth. My hope was to sand or plane them out.

You can see the saw marks on this offcut:

After a lot of sanding, the fingerboard feels smooth to the touch. But the saw marks have somehow morphed into light -coloured spots:

Not sure how this is possible. Now if these spots weren't all oriented the same direction, they might be an interesting feature. As it is, I can't get myself to like it.

 

[Crawforde]

Have you tried to finish it yet? Just some oil and wax on scrap may be enough.
I had some bloodwood a few years ago that was kind of similar. When finished those areas had some cool chatoyant motion.
It would be cool if you could lay it out so those marks were natural multi-scale fingerboard lines. Like the tree grew to be a bass on purpose.

 

[Flamingo21]

Have you tried to finish it yet? Just some oil and wax on scrap may be enough.

No, I haven't yet tried finishing the Bloodwood. Will try, I have Tung oil at hand, maybe wax too.

What do you mean by "on scrap"?

 

[Crawforde]

I like to experiment on scrap/ cut offs etc, instead of on the big important pieces of wood when I’m not sure what I’m doing or how something will work.
In theory at least

 

[Flamingo21]

I see. Well I have plenty of leftover material from the fingerboard, so there's room for experiment. Thanks!

 

[Flamingo21]

First experiments with finishes on an offcut. To the right is the unfinished Bloodwood. To the left, one layer of Tung oil. In the middle, two layers of "Ruwa" yacht lacquer. This is similar to Minwax wipe on poly which is hard to get here.

Both finishes are quite red, redder than I expected. The saw marks are still visible but only from a specific angle, as the second photo shows.

I now feel there's some chance of salvaging my fingerboard. That's an improvement on two hours ago. (*yawns*) It's my bedtime now. More to follow.

 

[RichterScale]

Is there enough meat on the board to sand those out?
Not sure how hard bloodwood is to sand, but it looks like it might take another mm or 2 to get those gone.